Trapped in a world he is not designed to cope with, Dave-El (the true Kryptonian name of alleged Earth creature David Long) writes about comics, Doctor Who, politics and whatever damned thing pops into his unbalanced mind.

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Random Political Musings

President
Barack Obama came to visit Greensboro NC this past Tuesday. I am amazed at how
his poll numbers keep going up as we start to deal with the fact that arguably
the coolest President ever is going away in a few months. It’s particularly
hard when you realize your choices are Drunk Uncle or Uncool Aunt. Obama has
found a loose energy that I think would’ve served him well in the early going of
his Presidency instead of trying to stay buttoned up. There is a difference
between cool and cold. A President Obama who is on his way our the door is a fired up President and seems so much more formidable.

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North
Carolina is getting a lot of attention from Clinton, Kaine, Trump, Pence and
their various surrogates. While North Carolina has tended to vote Republican for
President, the Tarheel State is currently in play with Hillary Clinton having a
real shot at taking the state in November.

Besides the considerable unease with
Trump at the top of the ticket, there’s not a lot of love lost for the state
Republican leadership in the wake of the HB2 debacle that has cost the state
hundreds of millions of dollars. There are enough hardline social conservatives
to carry the day for the existing Republican power structure who are energized
by efforts to restrict or roll back LGBT rights.

But there has also been a
massive influx of young, college educated professionals into the state,
particularly in Charlotte and the Research Triangle Park near Raleigh. These
relative newcomers to the state also represent a board range of diversity
involving race, religion and sexual orientation; this is a group that is directly
opposed to the policies of the current governor and legislature. Neither side has
a significant advantage so that makes North Carolina a definite battleground
that can turn the state Republican red or Democrat blue.

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One
way to turn most of the entire country red is the repeal the 19th amendment.
Recent data has given Hillary Clinton the overall lead across the country but a
lot of that is owing to her advantage with women voters, an edge that has only
grown in the wake of recent revelations of Donald Trump’s boorish language and
behavior towards women. If women voters were taken out of the equation, the
whole country would virtually be red. That’s right, men favor Trump over
Clinton. Well, who can deny the appeal of a little boy in a grown man’s body
with a lot of money surrounded by hot women?

Anyway,
a hash tag of #RepealThe19th started worming its way through Twitter and other
social media. The 19th amendment was the one that granted women the
right to vote. And even those women who are still supporting Trump have gone on
record to say that if getting Trump elected President meant giving up their
right to vote, they would do it.

Now
if the thought of repealing the 19th amendment makes your skin
crawl, don’t worry. It takes almost forever to launch a new amendment and just
as long to stop one. There is no way the 19th amendment will be
reversed and absolutely impossible for it to happen before November 8th.
Still, how desperate are Trump’s followers to entertain the very concept of
forgoing a person’s right to vote?

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Before
I wrap up today’s post, a few things.

A
lot of eastern North Carolina is still underwater in the aftermath of Hurricane
Matthew. Rivers and lakes are rising and cresting, sending floodwaters out to
turn streets into rivers and front lawns into lakes. And a lot of people still
don’t have power. It’s easy to get distracted by other crazier things but
remember the people in North Carolina and other states coping with Matthew’s
aftermath.

I
mentioned a few weeks ago that my main computer at the Fortress of Ineptitude
decided I shouldn’t go on the internet anymore. I assumed my WiFi adaptor had
died so I bought a new one… which didn’t work either. Fearing the worst, I plugged
my phone into the USB port and the computer didn’t register that my phone was
connected. So it appears my USB ports (all of them?!) are dead. As I write
this, I haven’t fixed it. As with all things computer, I fear taking it in to
be fixed. The thin pale goateed wraiths that haunt my local computer repair and
supply place frighten me. So I’m typing these posts when and where I can on
other devices. Yes, that includes work although I do limit myself to writing
only during lunch, breaks and especially long and boring conference calls. I
stay on alert for my name and if I miss something, I’ll blame multi-tasking.

As
I write this, I have not finished Sunday’s Doctor Who post. Two weeks ago, I
started a new fan fiction script and tomorrow is supposed to be Episode Three
of my new adventure with the 12th Doctor (AND River!) called
Cybermania. Maybe by the time Sunday rolls around, I will have that done. But
just in case, there may be a change in plan.

So
that is, as they say, that. Thanks for dropping by and until next time,
remember to be good to one another.